Why Libraries?
I was choosing some reference materials for high school students to be part of our Corporate Social Responsibility project, and I noticed that the shelves having reference materials have slackened a lot.
I wanted to think that it was only because I was in a small bookstore and that the larger ones had better material, only to be disappointed. Some reference materials no longer see print because they have been posted in websites that need to be subscribed to and paid for.
Although I have nothing against the improvement of technology that lessens the use of paper, and the cost it places on the environment, still I cannot avoid feeling that this generation has been deprived of the joy of smelling a fresh book, or how they have not enjoyed the excitement of leafing through over-turned pages of a frequently read material, discovering why it has been read a lot.
The books we read in our gadgets may reduce the load we take to school, or even save us a lot of library time as we research at home. But I still covet the security of knowing that the publisher of my material is authentic, the author or authors have claim and authority over what they wrote that is not just a hodge-podge of thoughts that contributors enter into popular encyclopedia site.
It is deplorable to learn that some students no longer know what a card catalogue is, let alone the Dewey Decimal System. They are no longer able to experience the thrill of locating a title on the shelves or lingering in the library and lose oneself in the pages of a book. How much is missed in travelling to other places through the accounts in the pages of a book, though I am sure my nephews and nieces would just shush me by saying that there are better and faster alternatives to reading about other countries or places to explore.
More sad is that not all schools have a workable library. What used to be basic to a school is no longer a priority. Libraries have to give in to the lack of classrooms. Making what used to be a haven of learning, a token nook near the principal’s office or attached to some teacher’s workspace.
Why do I say that? Visit our primary and secondary schools and even those with senior high, not all of them have libraries that are big enough or conducive for pupils to study or learn new things through reading.
As we encourage new discoveries, free thinking, and independent learning, there is nothing wrong with taking a short cut by learning from what others have already found out, and adding to what they have learned by testing old theories in new times. Then we will be able to prove further the soundness of those ideas or schools of thought. Supporting the library as part of your CSR as businessmen and women could help in cultivating young minds to have broader perspectives and wider learning avenues.
Books provide students with lessons that are uninterrupted by notifications, game updates and other attention arresters. If students develop their reading skills or more importantly their curiosity to learn more about history, science, philosophies and growth, then they may find their deeper purpose.
Just like the Bible. It is one big library of books with theories and doctrines that have weathered the test of time. Yet, because people have failed to read the books in them, whatever learning gems are found inside, cannot be unearthed or applied because no one has dared, or even cultivated the interest to open this portable library of life.
Allow me then to segue to my desire to provide 55 more individuals with a chance to discover undying truths in this complete guidebook of life, the Bible. We need more Cebuano Bibles. If you have the heart to share some with some of our patients in our community clinic, please get in touch with Janesen or Emily at OMF Bookstore in Banilad, Cebu City with telephone numbers 346-7142 or 4181439. Your gift would be truly appreciated by its recipients.
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